Sharp PC-5000

The Sharp PC-5000 was a pioneering laptop computer, announced by Sharp Corporation of Japan in 1983. Like the GRiD Compass, which preceded it, and its contemporary the Gavilan SC, it employed a clamshell design in which the display closes over the keyboard.

The PC-5000 was largely IBM PC-compatible, with the same 4.77-MHz Intel 8088 processor as the IBM PC, and ran MS-DOS 2.0 (in ROM). It had 128 kilobytes of internal memory (it was one of the few computers to use bubble memory), which could be expanded by the use of plug-in cartridges. The cartridge slots also accepted ROM cartridges containing software, such as the Extended BASIC programming language and the EasyPac software suite, which contained the EasyWrite II word processor, EasyReport reports program, and EasyComm terminal software for use with the internal modem. It featured a 640×80-pixel (80-character by 8-line) LCD display, a full-transit keyboard, and an external dual 5.25-inch floppy disk drive. A notable feature of the computer was its built-in thermal printer, which could also be purchased separately and attached to the machine. It is perhaps due to this attachment that the case design of the PC-5000 owes much to that of electronic typewriters of its time.

While far more portable than the popular Compaq Portable or Osborne 1 computers, the machine weighed 5 kg (11 lb).

References

External links

• Article about the PC-5000
• Review of the PC-5000 from 1984
• Vintage-computer page about the PC-5000
• Old-computers page about the PC-5000

Sharp Corporation
Divisions and subsidiaries	Current iDeep Solutions Corporation Sharp Electronics Corporation Sharp Manufacturing Systems Corporation Sharp Solar Takaya Defunct Optonica1
Shareholdings	Pioneer Corporation (14%)
Products	Calculators Sharp EL-8 Sharp EL-500W series Sharp EL-5120 Sharp QT-8B Sharp QT-8D Computers Notebooks Sharp PC-5000 Sharp Actius RD3D PCs Sharp MZ Sharp X1 (Sharp X1 games) Sharp X68000 (Sharp X68000 games MDX) Pocket and handheld Sharp PC-1211 Sharp PC-1251 Sharp PC-1350 Sharp PC-1401 Sharp PC-1403 Sharp PC-1450 Sharp PC-1500 Sharp PC-1600 Sharp PC-E220 Sharp PC-E500S Sharp Wizard Sharp Zaurus Mobile phones Sharp GX15 Sharp GX25 Sharp GX29 Sharp GX33 J-SH04 Sharp SH906i Sharp SX862 Sharp Aquos Crystal Televisions and displays Sharp Aquos C1 NES TV Quattron SF-1 SNES TV Other Famicom Titler Twin Famicom Sharp Viewcam VL-Z800U
People	Tokuji Hayakawa
Places	Abenobashi Terminal Building Tower Abeno-ku Blue Man Group Sharp Aquos Theatre Yaita
1Now integrated into other Sharp divisions or business groupings Category Commons